first family lit the national christmas tree, president obama said the mandatory spending cuts and tax hikes that could kick in 25 days from now are threatening to ruin the holidays for millions of americans. >> the american people are counting on this getting solved. >> reporter: the two parties are leaving negotiations to the two main power brokers, president obama and house speaker john boehner. >> if the president doesn't agree with our proposal, he has an obligation to families and small businesses to offer a plan of his own. a plan that can pass both chambers of the congress. >> reporter: with the clock ticking toward the fiscal cliff deadline, government workers have joined the push but they want to make sure they're not cut out of the deal. >> federal employees that i represent have offered up $103 billion to the federal deficit. >> reporter: jd cox of the american federation of government employees say they can't afford anymore cuts and going over the fiscal cliff will impact millions of americans. >> there would be a lot of federal employees who would be furloughed or riffed